CALLS to bring back Chumbawamba's Tubthumping – "I get knocked down, but I get up again" – as the NRL's anthem have been resisted by the ARL Commission.

Instead, Roberta Flack will be appear at the grand final singing Killing Me Softly.

The truth is out. The NRL has gone soft. There will be more physical games of Twister at six-year-old birthday parties than you will see next season. The medical room at the World Chess Championships will contain more casualties than at Shark Park.

Greg Inglis's hit on Dean Young which knocked out the Dragons forward.. The Rabbitohs fullback was banned for three matches. Photo: Screen grab from FoxSports

This we know because of the hysterical reaction to the ARL Commission's decision to ban the shoulder charge – a backlash that sent Sir Reginald Twitter's patented apparatus into meltdown.

"They should ban the ball from rugby league! And play with a fluffy teddy bear," suggested Josh Cordoba.

Frank Pritchard's high tackle on David Simmons in round one. Photo: Screen grab from FoxSports

Both Luke and Cordoba suffered career-threatening calluses on their Twitter fingers after making those observations. Or so you would think, if the image NRL players are portraying of themselves – and their game – is to be believed. Softer than Anna Kournikova's second serve.

And here we were thinking, from outside the fence, that the increased speed of the game, and the size of the athletes, had created a contest every bit as ferocious – and much cleaner – than in the "good old days". That the introduction of the interchange, the neutering of the scrum and quicker play-the-ball resulted in a frenzied game in which the sheer speed of the collisions intensified the risk.

We had – if you believe the players now – deluded ourselves that the size of the modern combatants, with bodies chiselled in the gymnasium rather than the front bar, had made the contemporary rugby league field a place for latter-day gladiators. That the influx of Polynesian players, with their size, speed and agility, had further increased the pace, the physicality and the inherent danger.

Once, we had thought two exhausted behemoths standing toe-to-toe on a muddy field trading punches in a highlights reel from the 1970s was symbolic of a "real man's game". But, on second thought, we would rather have taken our chances against these blokes than try to hold the line against the muscular cannonballs who now prowl the field.

Yet, the players are telling us, the removal of the shoulder charge – something the statistics show is a rare and relatively incidental part of the game – means the NRL will be about as brutal as a slumber party pillow fight. The fact Greg Inglis will no longer be able to turn his lethal weapon of a body, and cast Dean Young in the title role of Sleeping Beauty, supposedly means the game has lost its machismo.

Alternatively, perhaps the players have already suffered so many concussions from shoulder charges that they are not thinking straight. That their eagerness to inflict such punishment is – like the brain injuries that are a blight on football codes world-wide – blurring their vision.

I have some sympathy for the view that only the head-high charges be illegal. Automatic sin-binning and stiff judiciary penalties might make players think twice before turning their shoulders into baseball bats. But, faced with the disturbing images of American NFL players who suffer higher rates of brain injury and suicide because of head-high shots, you cannot blame those who have to deal with the carnage – the club doctors and surgeons – for erring on the side of caution.

The objection of the coaches is predictable. Offering a coach a rule change is like offering an Eskimo a sauna. In this case, the discomfort is created by having to drill players to adapt to changed circumstances which, with three months before the first game, should not prove too great a challenge.

The fans? Yes, the shoulder charge can be spectacular. So can a car crash. But you only have to watch any State of Origin game from the past five years to realise this ban will not diminish the game's incredible blend of athleticism, brutality and courage. On the evolutionary scale, it is a move from Neanderthal to Mediaeval.

Certainly, the players are entitled to their say. They are not only the ones who inflict the shoulder charge, but also suffer the damage. But next season, when ex-track rider Billy Slater is standing under a bomb with all sorts of mayhem reigning down upon him, I'll be checking my Twitter feed to see how many think the game has gone soft.

rhinds@smh.com.au

@rdhinds

133 comments so far

hey i have loved league for years, but if they want to bash themselves and pretend it makes them more of a man than so be it. running forward to crash into another man while holding a ball under your arm does not require skill, just size. look forward to comments from fans who think they are more masculine for watching league. try playing a game with real skill that's actually difficult. i can play the game of a forward in league with my eyes closed. pick up that ball and run forward and crash into someone.

wow. i'm so skillful and a better man for doing it.

Commenter

ian

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 12:07PM

Excellent article - and Greg Inglis should have copped a several match ban for his hit on Dean Young. He was charged with a 5 match ban and got 3. Should have been out for 10

Commenter

Franky

Location

Sydney

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 12:40PM

@Ian, yes, of course you are a league lover. Your comments really prove it. A bit like "I'm not a racist.......but"If they care so much about the players welfare (with brain injuries, etc), surely they will not allow S.B.W. to Box! So much for the Commision listening to the fans. That's not my game! I note that a lot of anti-league 'fans' have registered their approval of the ban.And Richard, I think that I would still prefer to try and tackle a modern player than get into a brawl with some of those players from the 70's. You must be a pretty handy guy.Actually, you must be more than handy.

Commenter

tiredoftalking

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 1:16PM

@ Ian I very much doubt that at all Ian,If you ran at me you wouldn't get up I can assure you.I played the game all my life and although It does look like a pretty thuggish and unskillful game believe me it isn't.Your argument about masculinity is just a rubbish argument from someone who obviously has never played the game,its got nothing to do with it.The games has been around for a long time and all i can say as an ex player and avid fan is this is a crazy decision....know one wants to see people get hurt but its a CONTACT sport its always going to happen.I thought they had it right by banning players who got shoulder charges wrong,do it by the book or risk suspension,yet again they have changed a rule without thinking about it.The game is already becoming to robotic...dumb decision.

Commenter

Boz

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 1:22PM

Ian... Definitely never played the game have you? If you care to take a hit-up against the big boys I hope you have your medical insurance sorted out.

Commenter

Rusta

Location

the Berra

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 1:46PM

all i can say it look at two of those replies -

1 -Boz - 'if you ran at me you wouldn't get up'..........yep ............you need to write it on the internet to prove it....... 2 - tired of talking - you somehow know my real intentions and compare an article on a shoulder charge to a topic that is real and serious like racism. congratulations for a pointless comparison that belittles racsim. Boz proved my point. i guess i'll put away my broncos and origin jersey as i never really enjoyed it as you know the truth.

shoulder charges always looked good but as dave said below - they can be a cheap shot when the attacker is not looking at the defender or already tackled. yep - courage and bravery in spades.

Commenter

Ian

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 1:57PM

Boz, the internet tough guy.It's all well and good for the seniors to do it but I do wonder what the spill-over is to juniors where the quality of tackling is somewhat lower and the likelihood of injury somewhat high.

Commenter

frank

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 3:31PM

Boz is now the toughest guy I know.

Commenter

MT

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 3:53PM

Boz, if I ran at you, you wouldn't get up.

Commenter

Boz Smasher

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 3:54PM

Ian, you would be surprised how much skill it actually takes to keep that ball under your arm when your body suffers the simultaneous impact of three 100kg+ men. That's what skill is all about. I've always loved people saying league is nothing more than running into people with a ball in your hand. If some of the skilled people from your favourite sports...I'm assuming soccer, had the threat of being pulverised to deal with, they might not have such presence of mind required to execute their most skilful plays.